


Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkaboo Eater

by MissWonnykins



Series: Childish [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Boys Kissing, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Pokemon Training, Practice Battle, Relationship Discussions, Wingman Dawn, wingman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-01-30
Packaged: 2018-03-09 17:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3258419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissWonnykins/pseuds/MissWonnykins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Training Your New Moltres: </p><p>Step 1: Find a large, open area with decent trees so that you and your new Pokemon can train undisturbed.</p><p>Step 2: Select an appropriate opponent to battle your Moltres.</p><p>Step 3: Be sure to praise your Moltres for every milestone; you want to build a lasting relationship!</p><p>Step 4: Take a rest once in a while.</p><p>Step 5: Socialize your new Pokemon with other Pokemon so that it can learn to behave accordingly.</p><p>Step 6: Introduce your Moltres to other humans and let it become familiar to those close to you. Chances are, it will love them just as much as it loves you.</p><p>Ash can only follow directions for so long...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkaboo Eater

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to make this a little series. Enjoy Part 2 of the 'Childish' series.

At one time, a time filled with uncertainty and way too many foul-ups, Ash Ketchum had not been in control of a lot of things. In fact, most of his journey as a Pokemon trainer had been filled with one cosmic bundle of chaos after another. He seemed to get shoved over proverbial - and sometimes literal - cliffs at every turn and was expected to land feet first each time. The number of times his destiny had been dictated and controlled by outside forces were rather high. Even the beginning of his travels wasn't without uncomfortable jostling and prodding, courtesy of one Gary Oak. Gary had always come out on top, always knew what to say and what to do, and Ash had never had a hope in the beginning of gaining the upper hand with him.

Oh, how the tables had turned. More like fallen right over.

In the beginning, he never would have imagined the satisfaction that would come with the sheer dominance switch between them. He supposed he would have been just slightly happier if it was something everyone _else_ could see, but Ash wasn't about to go spreading it around just yet. There was some sort of sick pleasure he got out of being the only person to see his friend so submissive. It was a side of Gary nobody else - that Ash knew of - had seen. What was more, he didn't have to sneak around to see it: Gary willingly put it on display for him.

It was intimate in nature, as well, which was also why Ash had his reservations on sharing his discovery.

That wasn't to say he didn't want to tell someone about his relationship with his former rival. It made Ash positively elated, all things considered. For a while, he had been afraid that their abrupt start back in Professor Rowan's (rather charred) lab was as far as it was going to get. They had walked away the next day secretly holding hands like a couple of silly school kids, only to jerk them away the moment Bonnie danced more then two paces in front of them. It was clear neither of them was sure how things exactly were going to go, and Gary had to pull back on Ash's reigns more often then he likely wanted to. The sappy things like cuddling on park benches and going out for meals wasn't something they could do...so Gary said. It was frustrating to Ash, who was used to being more open about his life with his friends as well as his mother. He had no idea what they would do once the five of them reached Pallet Town together, but as the days wore on and their footsteps took them to Hoenn territory, it became increasingly apparent that they _did_ have something to hide.

The problem with having friends around when you were trying to keep something like that a secret, Ash realized early on, was that it was almost impossible. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie were a constant presence that he almost always didn't mind. To Gary's credit, the auburn-haired boy seemed to like them well enough, too. The niggling 'but' of it all was that they were ALWAYS around, even if it was just one of them. Bonnie was crushing hard in her little girl way on Gary, who played along with her, and Serena seemed more attached to Ash then ever before. Clemont was neutral ground, though that wasn't much better. Other then the fifteen minutes of walking the day after the fire in the lab, Ash had barely had five minutes to do much of anything with Gary in the span of several days.

Dawn Berlitz, it turned out, would be his saving grace. She had always been one of his closer friends and extremely likable, so when she insisted on taking them all on a small shopping excursion before they left Sinnoh for good, no one had any protests.

She, however, had.

"NO." She prodded a finger right into Ash's forehead, causing him to yelp and rub at the offended bit of skin. The blue-haired girl put her hands on her hips. "Because I'm not listening to you complain and whine the whole time while I'm trying to entertain your new friends."

"I'll keep quiet." He had protested.

Dawn firmly shook her head. "Nothin' doin', Ash. Besides, don't you have a new Pokemon to look out for now? Shouldn't you be helping Gary with it instead of slacking off?"

Ash's face had rapidly colored, and one hand reached up to rub at his neck while he glanced sheepishly in the boy's direction. He had barely taken Moltres out of its ball, something that Gary had only commented on a couple times. The dark-haired trainer wasn't surprised to see Gary cross his arms and frown at him expectantly.

"She has a point." He told the pouting trainer. "That _was_ part of our deal." To Ash's relief, his friend's face softened a little. "Besides, do you really mean to tell me you want to shop around instead of train? Who are you and what have you done with Ash Ketchum?"

That earned some laughter from Ash's other friends, and even he smiled a little at it before lightly punching Gary in the shoulder. Dawn was also smiling, and she waved a little. "No need to worry, okay? I'll take good care with them. I think we'll have a lot of fun." She turned to go, the blond heads of Ash's friends also turning with her. She paused, then, and peered back at them. "I mean it, you better train. Well...a little anyway. See you around!" With a wink, Dawn flounced after Ash's Kalos-native friends, wrapping an arm each around the shoulders of Clemont and Serena.

It occurred to Ash once they were a significant distance away that he had been left alone with Gary, and his eyes finally moved from their retreating backs to see if Gary had caught onto that fact yet.

Gary, of course, had. He cocked an eyebrow up at Ash in a bemused fashion, putting his hands in the pockets of his black jacket. "Well. You heard the lady."

Ash opened his mouth to protest, and almost allowed himself to before thinking things over. Then he shrugged. "Yeah, I really should get started. Come on, we'll go find a good area to practice in."

"Something outside of town, preferably." Gary cautioned, falling into step beside Ash as they headed the opposite way the other four had gone. "No point in making it nervous with a crowd of gawkers."

"Of what now?" Ash asked, frowning.

"...Nothing. Keep walking."

\--

The spot they ended up choosing was a bit further out of town then they'd wanted, but it was deserted and mostly dirt. The tree line cut off the view of town and gave the area itself a wide berth. The amount of privacy was ideal for a couple of trainers looking to battle undisturbed...or for a legendary Pokemon to be loose without attracting unwanted attention.

"What should we do first?" Ash asked, once they'd both decided the area was good enough.

Beside him, Gary tapped his fingers on his leg, frowning slantedly. "...Basics, I suppose. We know that it knows Ember, but there are still three open slots where it may know moves or might learn them eventually. We should figure out what other moves it might know and go from there. If it's comfortable, then we can test its stats in an actual battle."

Ash nodded, satisfied; Gary always seemed to know exactly what to do, and it was comforting in a way he hadn't felt since Brock had gone. "Right." He unclipped the red and white ball from his belt, tossing it out in front of the pair of them. It bounced up, froze as it opened, and emitted a burst of white light that slowly took the form of the large bird Pokemon. Moltres crooned a greeting before using its long, tapered beak to preen one of its wings. The sight made Ash chuckle. In the end, Legendary or not, it was a bird. A friendly one, thankfully.

"Moltres!" He called, and the Pokemon looked up at him. "Do you remember using your Ember attack a couple days back?" When Moltres jerked its head once in a nod, he continued, "Do you know any other moves?"

The large, fiery Pokemon's eyes narrowed, and it stared at the ground thoughtfully before a small gleam entered its pupils. Its wings snapped back open, emitting a sharp burst of wind and several small embers. It did this once more before Ash understood. "Wing Attack?" Again, the jerky nod. Beside him, he heard rustling, and saw Gary was writing something down on a small notebook. "Anything else, Moltres?"

But the bird didn't know much more. That was fine; it was a hatchling, after all, and likely wouldn't know many attacks so soon. Gary was confident it wouldn't be long until it learned two more attacks.

"A Pokemon of its size may not have a problem gaining experience quickly, but we should still take it easy." The researcher explained.

Ash nodded, peering at his shoulder for his trusted starter. Pikachu blinked, then grinned, jumping down to the ground to waggle its arms at Moltres. The pair of them spoke - in a way Gary and Ash could never hope to understand, they supposed - for a moment or so before Pikachu whipped around and cried out happily. "I think Moltres is okay with practicing with Pikachu."

"Good. Pikachu's a good practice target...er...not that you're normally a target, Pikachu." Gary hurriedly told the electric rodent. "You're alright with taking a little bit of damage?"

The Pokemon nodded with a decisive 'chu!' before turning back to Moltres. Ash watched both Pokemon move further towards the center of the dirt ground, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Okay! For this battle, Moltres, you're going to be listening to me! Pikachu--" He paused. He could have told the Pokemon to do its own thing, trusting Pikachu would know how to provide a fair target for the bird. His eyes still traveled to his friend beside him, who paused when the command cut off suddenly and blinked questioningly at Ash. "...Pikachu, listen to Gary!"

The auburn-haired boy blanched immediately. "What...?! Me, give orders to your Pikachu? You're crazy."

"Why?" Ash was surprised by the reaction, and so was Pikachu when he briefly peered out at the yellow Pokemon. "Pikachu'll listen to you. He listens to my other friends, too, and you're one of the strongest trainers I know."

"That's not what I mean. It's...it's one thing for us to do a swap with our other Pokemon. Pikachu's sort of your Siamese twin." Gary tried to explain. "It'll feel weird, trying to battle you with it."

The dark-haired boy thought on that, looking out at Pikachu. The rodent seemed confused to what the wait was for. Finally, Pikachu waved its arms and made a small 'OK' sign, smiling. Ash smiled as well, looking back at Gary. "Pikachu says it's okay. I trust you. Besides, it's just a practice run."

The other boy's mouth hung open slightly. After a few seconds, Gary finally shut his mouth with an audible click and rolled one of his shoulders. "All right...Let me get to the other side so Moltres doesn't get confused."

Gary took his time wandering across the patch of dirt to the other side, and Ash found himself watching, lips slightly pursed in thought. He smirked once the auburn-haired boy turned to face him, cupping his hands over his mouth and calling: "THANKS FOR THE VIEW!"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"Moltres, Wing Attack!"

The Pokemon hesitated, apparently processing the order, but Ash had startled Gary enough to where this wasn't an issue. Gary's reaction came a bit too late, and Pikachu only just barely managed to dodge. "You're a filthy cheater!" His former rival accused, crossing his arms. "Pikachu, use Agility!"

The rodent immediately began to run, speed increasing until it was just a yellow blur. Ash frowned...it would be harder to hit Pikachu when it was moving so fast, and he would know. "Moltres, use Wing Attack again...but try to sweep out more!"

Moltres nodded in understanding, and when it snapped its wings out, it spun slightly to one side, sweeping the flaming wings in a wide circle that lightly clipped the running yellow blur.

"Lucky shot, Ash." Gary called, dryly, as Pikachu hopped up to its feet, cheeks crackling with energy. "You can't rely on Moltres's size all the time, especially with small targets. Pikachu, Volt Tackle."

Ash winced, knowing what was coming and also reflecting on Gary's comment about the bird-Pokemon's size. "Get out of the way, Moltres--!"

It came too late: Pikachu slammed into Moltres's side before the legendary could properly dodge, sending it sprawling backwards as it was electrocuted. With a grimace, Ash could see the larger Pokemon was severely damaged by the hit. Pikachu hadn't been using its full strength in the slightest, and yet Moltres looked badly hurt. Gary, across the field, also seemed to have noticed. "Should we stop?" He asked the dark-haired trainer, who frowned and looked up at the weary Moltres.

"It's okay if you want to stop." Ash told, it, gently. "We can try more later when you're feeling better."

But the legendary Pokemon lightly shook its head with a coo, turning back to face Pikachu. Across the dirt patch, Gary half-grinned. "If you want, Ash, I have a couple Super Potions."

A little spritz was all it took to get Moltres back up to full health, and the training began again. Now that it had seen what Pikachu was capable of even if it wasn't fully trying, Moltres was more careful and quicker to get out of the way if the smaller Pokemon came at it. It wasn't just Pikachu that managed to get in hits, after a while, and the amount of times they had to use Gary's potion bottles waned.

Things finally came to a head about an hour later. Both boys were yelling themselves hoarse, as was common when one trained for so long. Gary's voice had a very squeaky sort of quality to it that amused Ash, but he was too busy keeping Moltres on its toes to mention it. Both Pokemon were equally showing signs of fatigue, Super Potion or no, and he knew that they would have to stop soon. Yet still...he didn't know what it was, but he wanted Moltres to keep going. Something was going to happen, and Ash could feel it.

Pikachu lept back after a successfully blocked Iron Tail attack (that Gary had to be told about; he was still a bit surprised about it) and landed on all fours with a small squeak. Moltres was staring it down. The fur on the back of Pikachu's neck raised up slowly, mirroring Ash's certainty that something was about to happen. For a moment, the strange feeling in the air caused both trainers to stop giving orders, waiting for whatever it was to come to pass.

It was Gary who broke the silence. "Electro Ball!"

That was it, that was the defining moment. As Pikachu began to charge the attack, Ash saw something change with Moltres. It was faint, barely noticeable; a sudden widening of its eyes and a tightening of its pupils. Pikachu must have seen it as well, but it was far too late.

As if in slow motion, the legendary bird puffed itself up, drawing itself to full height with its wings spread out. With a loud shriek, its open beak shot a large plume of fire that swirled like a miniature tornado, engulfing Pikachu as the Pokemon continued to charge its attack.

"Fire Spin...! Ash, it just learned Fire Spin!"

Ash pumped a fist into the air, hopping up and down. The attack ended, leaving a bewildered but otherwise only-slightly burned Pikachu in the middle of the scorched earth. When it cottoned on to Ash's excited cheering, it grinned up at Moltres. The larger Pokemon was confused by the sudden stop to things up until Ash ran to it and around to face it. "That was great, Moltres!" The bird Pokemon made a soft chirping noise before leaning forward to gently nuzzle its beak against Ash's face.

A crunching across the dirt signified Gary's presence, and Moltres turned to him for affection next. "Not bad at all." The researcher stated, rubbing at the bird's head with one hand. His other held his notepad. Pikachu lept up onto Ash's shoulder, patting at Moltres's face while happily chattering away. "I think we can stop for now. Moltres learning that move means it just hit level eight, which isn't bad progress for just an hour. They both look pretty tired, anyway."

"H'yeah. It was so amazing, though!" Moltres let out a loud yawn, and Ash patted at its swan-like neck. "Go lay down for a little bit, okay? You earned it. You too, Pikachu. You did really well with Gary." He scratched at his starter Pokemon's scalp, causing it to 'chaaaa' happily and nuzzle his face. The boy laughed, giving it a hug before letting it follow Moltres to the shade. Both Ash and Gary followed the Pokemon, Ash with his hands stretched behind his head and Gary with his own in his pockets. "You really _did_ do good, telling Pikachu how to battle." Ash told him, peering to the right so that he could watch the other boy's face. "But that's why I trusted you to begin with."

Gary glanced back at him, smiled, and shrugged. "It was still weird. It'd be like me asking you to give commands to Umbreon."

"You don't think I could?"

"I think you could," Gary hastily told him, "But it would feel strange doing it. She's...mine. I dunno, I guess I wouldn't feel that way with some of my other Pokemon."

Ash made a thoughtful sort of noise, dropping down at the base of a tree. Moltres had settled on the ground, head tucked under one of its huge wings. Pikachu had settled upon its back in a little yellow ball. "I guess it's just a little weird, but I guess I wouldn't trust just anybody with Pikachu, either. Any of my friends he'd listen to, y'know. And besides, like I said," His elbow caught Gary lightly in the ribs as the other boy sat next to him, "you're one of the best trainers I know."

"It was nice to battle with it." The researcher admitted, rubbing at his side. "Maybe I'll have to let you borrow Umbreon for a battle, soon. I'd love to see how you handle her."

Something was decidedly snarky about that and sarcastic, which was all too clear when Gary snickered at him. Ash frowned, crossing his arms. "What's that supposed to mean? I could handle your Umbreon just fine."

"She's not as easy going as your Pikachu." Came Gary's explanation. The boy was pulling the soles of his shoes together, legs butterflied out. "And I may have spoiled her a little."

"...Your Umbreon's a girl?"

Gary blinked, then nodded. "I guess I don't really say that much. Yeah, she's female."

"You've never said anything about what it is." Ash commented truthfully, watching as Gary plucked a Pokeball from his belt.

"Well, there's a lot of reasons for that. For one thing, do you have any idea how hard it is to hatch a female Eevee?" The ball enlarged in Gary's hand, but he didn't depress the center button right away. "They're very rare, and Eevee are already pretty rare to begin with. When you breed Pokemon, if the two Pokemon parents are different species the egg takes on the race of whatever the mother is."

It took Ash a moment to see what Gary was telling him, and he let out a soft 'oooh' in response. "So if girl Eevees are hard to find, then they're hard to breed, too. That's like one big loop."

Gary nodded. "Right. So when a female Eevee hatches, it's automatically twice as valuable as a male would be. Of course, you can always breed a male Eevee or any of its evolutions with a Ditto, but most of what you'll get will be male, and none of them will have any Egg Moves like they would if you'd bred it with anything else. Female Eevee and their evolutions are incredibly rare and ideal if you're looking to breed." His finger finally hit the button on the ball, the white light bursting forward and forming the large shape that became his Umbreon. Gary's face lit up once her fur faded in, and he put the ball away before beckoning to the Pokemon. She went willingly with a small purr, sitting in his lap and laying heavily against his torso. "Of course, I don't want to breed her."

"Huh?" That threw Ash for a loop, and he frowned. "But all that you just said--"

"Was just me explaining why I don't go around shouting what gender she is to the whole world." Gary murmured, tucking her large head under his chin while looking in Ash's direction. "I'd constantly get hounded by people wanting Eevee eggs. She's a very good fighter, which makes her all the more desirable in a breeding match-up. If people knew what she was, they'd never leave me alone."

Ash agreed with that. He couldn't imagine people approaching him only to ask if they could use his Pikachu to breed with one of their own Pokemon and nothing else. Pikachu was his battling partner; the idea of using it just to make baby Pokemon after a long career of battling was almost cruel. Pikachu wouldn't want that, and he was quite sure that Gary's Umbreon wouldn't appreciate it, either. "That wouldn't be fair to her, would it?"

"No." Gary murmured, "Would it, Bree?" He rubbed at one of her ears, and the Pokemon cooed before head butting his jaw lightly. Ash smiled. There was a light pattering in the grass before Pikachu appeared around where Gary and Umbreon were sitting. Ash accepted the creature into his own arms, chuckling softly.

"Missed me already, buddy?"

"Peh-kub." Came Pikachu's sleepy response. It waved a paw lazily to Umbreon in greeting. The dark-type's ears perked up, and she leaned forward to touch noses with Pikachu. The rodent squirmed lightly in Ash's arms, and both trainers laughed. Last to arrive near them was Moltres, who shuffled up close to their legs before re-tucking its head under its wing. Umbreon appeared to be just as tired, and she laid herself over Gary's lap with her head on his thigh. Her paws stretched out, kneading the fabric of Gary's pants ("ow...ow...ow..."). After a moment, Ash scooted closer to the other boy, their arms pressed together so they sat shoulder to shoulder.

"She didn't even do anything." Ash teased, reaching over with one finger and running it up the bridge of Umbreon's nose to between her twitching brows.

Gary lightly batted his hand away. "She's nocturnal, you dweeb. She sleeps during the day time unless I need her out for a battle." He explained. The back of his hand stayed knocked against Ash's own until his fingers twitched, snaking up under Ash's palm until they laced their fingers together loosely. Ash felt insanely warm then, though that may have mostly been attributed to Moltres being so close to where they were sitting. Their held hands lay between Ash's left leg and Gary's right, and Umbreon observed them tiredly before rolling her eyes up to Gary's face. "Don't lookit me like that," Gary mumbled to her, "I'm allowed to hold hands with whoever I want."

"Beee.." Was the Pokemon's response, and Ash could have sworn she rolled her eyes completely before closing them. Her tongue darted out, licking the back of Ash's thumb before she let out a soft sigh.

"...What was that?" He asked as Gary snickered.

"Her accepting you, I suppose. I dunno. She hasn't ever done that before."

There was a pause, and Ash frowned. "...Accepted someone?" He asked, "Or...?"

"...Contrary to popular belief, I've dated other people before now." Gary murmured, softly. "Yeah. That's the first time she's ever not snubbed someone I've been close to like this."

The idea of Gary being with other people was...weird. It was weird in a way Ash found he didn't like, and he absently squeezed Gary's hand tighter. "...Lots of people?"

He didn't think Gary would answer, because he didn't right off the bat. In fact, the auburn-haired boy was quiet for a minute or so. "No." He finally replied, shaking his head.

Ash remembered how panicked Gary had been, days ago in Rowan's lab, and something dawned on him. "Just girls?"

Again, a moment of hesitation before answering. "...No. Most of them were, but I...I sorta was seeing a guy for a little while. It's been a few months since then."

"That's not too long ago." The trainer commented, carefully.

Gary shrugged. "I wasn't too upset when we broke up. It was my first time not being with a girl, and I was happy for that much, but he--" Umbreon growled lightly, and he froze.

Ash caught on immediately. "He wasn't a great person?"

"No." Was all Gary said.

"...What about the girls?"

Another shrug, followed by Gary glancing in his direction once more. "They were better people then he was, but it never really felt the way it should...it's hard to explain."

Ash let the conversation slide away, laying against the tree and staring at a spot just above Moltres's back. He was aware his thumb was rubbing lightly against the back of the other boy's hand.

"I still don't know much about all this." He finally said, turning his head to peer over at the researcher, who looked back at him when he began to speak. "But you do. So tell me what you want and I'll do it. Or...tell me what not to do." Ash paused, then asked in all seriousness: "What are we, actually?"

Gary didn't laugh at him, which Ash was relieved and nervous about at the same time. "...Whatever you want us to be. It's gotta be a mutual understanding, Ash."

"...Well...what do you say to somebody if you wanna do...whatever we're doing?" He pressed, frowning.

Color worked its way into Gary's face. The researcher was struggling, it was evident enough just looking at his face, and eventually he looked away. "It's usually called 'going out' with somebody, or 'going with' or 'going steady'...so you'd ask the other person to do one of those with you. It all means the same thing."

"So would you go out with me?" Ash asked, bluntly, staring at the other boy with wide, innocent eyes. Gary seemed to choke on air, face getting a few shades redder, and Ash laughed. "Wow, you oughta see your face, it's like the top of a Voltorb."

With a squeak of indignation, Gary took his hand back and lightly shoved Ash. "'Looks like a Voltorb--', I oughta shove a Voltorb up your nose--!" He threatened, causing Ash to laugh harder.

Once his laughter had died down, Ash reached up, taking off his hat and putting it over Pikachu's head. He leaned over, kissing Gary's cheek - that he could feel immense heat coming off of - before asking: "So will ya?"

"...I will if you stop making comparisons between my face and Pokemon." Gary lamely answered, looking embarrassed as he crossed his arms.

"Not even cute Pokemon?" Ash innocently asked, and Gary swatted at him. "Ow! Okay, I promise, I promise!"

"Fine. Then I _guess_ I accept." The other boy huffed, leering off to one side and away from Ash.

Making sure Pikachu was securely curled up in his lap, Ash leaned towards Gary, turning the sulky boy's face back towards his own. His thumb gently grazed Gary's bottom lip; the cut from days before had healed up, thankfully not requiring stitches, but the hardened tissue there was still a deep red color that stood out from the rest of his lips.

As if he knew what Ash was thinking, Gary mumbled "Don't you dare bite it." before Ash kissed him. It wasn't a sort of kiss that would lead to biting, in any case; it was soft, sweet, and when Ash pulled back a little he was content to lean his forehead against Gary's own.

Something nudged his arm - the one connected to the hand he had on the other boy's face - and he peered down to see Umbreon's big red eyes staring up at him. He felt as though he was being examined, and then the Pokemon leaned up and closed her eyes. Gary began to laugh. "What? What's she want?" Ash asked, frowning as he peered between the two.

"She wants you to kiss her, too."

It was so ridiculous that Ash was too dumbfounded to laugh, at first. Gary's giggling was catching, however, and he felt it in his own chest not long after. With as much seriousness as he could muster, he pecked the Pokemon's wet nose before bursting into his own laughter, waking Pikachu and Moltres. The electric type stared up at Ash in annoyance, prodding his belly, which made Ash laugh harder. All three Pokemon looked at them as though they'd lost their minds, but neither seemed to care.

"Hey," Ash murmured as his chuckling wound down, "Hey Gary...I really like you, y'know."

"Well good, Ash. Because if you didn't you'd be stupid for asking me out, wouldn't ya?" Which got both of them going all over again.

"Yeah, I would!" The dark-haired boy crowed in agreement.

"Bee..." Umbreon's ear twitched, and she peered at Pikachu.

The smaller Pokemon grumbled, using a paw to keep Ash's hat from covering its eyes. Then the dark-type moved closer, licking Pikachu's nose. The rodent's eyes got very large, and both boys roared with laughter. With a small cry, Ash's Pikachu lept from his lap, leaving his hat behind as it scampered a ways away on the grass. Umbreon blinked, then jumped from Gary's lap to give chase. Both Pokemon gamboled around a puzzled but amused Moltres, who soon joined in by lightly batting at them with the tips of its wings. Ash had no idea why everything was so funny, right then, but he felt like he was going to get a stitch in his side if it continued. Nimble fingers plucked his hat from his lap, and he squawked indignantly as Gary held it out of his reach. The pair of them fell over, Gary's arm outstretched along the ground to keep the boy's precious hat away from him. Ash struggled to crawl up over him to reach it, paused, looked down, and kissed him again instead. His hand twitched and tried to inch closer to Gary's, grasping for his hat, but it was too far out of reach and Ash found that, for once, he didn't care.

"That's twice you've put me on my back, Ketchum," Gary finally grumbled, and Ash felt Gary's free hand grip his shoulder before he was pushed over and off of the other boy. He barely had time to register the brightness of the sun above him before Gary settled heavily over top of him. To his mixture of amusement and fury, he saw his cap perched jauntily on the researcher's own head. Gary smirked down at him. "That's not going to be how it is every time."

"That's what you think...!" Ash shot back, and managed to flip them both back over. They both laid against the warm feathers of Moltres, and the bird chirped down at them curiously. He tried to grab for his hat, but Gary caught his hands, and so the dark-haired boy leaned back and peered up at Moltres. "Hey, can you get my hat, Moltres?"

"That's cheating!" Gary whined as the cap was plucked from his head. Moltres laid it neatly back on top of Ash's own unruly hair.

"Cheater, cheater, Pumpkaboo-eater." Ash mumbled, and both of them started snickering all over again. "Just because I like you doesn't mean you get to steal my hat, Gary Oak."

Gary muttered something that sounded a lot like 'yeah, yeah' before releasing Ash's hands, his own moving up to lightly grasp the other's collar. This time, their laughter died away completely, but not in an unpleasant way. Ash could still hear Umbreon and Pikachu playing around, and felt Moltres's body move as the large Pokemon breathed.

At once, he remembered his friends weren't there, and lay gently down over top of the researcher. "Hey...how's this gonna work, Gary? Are we not gonna tell my friends?"

Gary's face colored again, although not with the same severity as it had before. "I'd prefer we didn't." He admitted, lightly tugging on Ash's collar. "They're your friends, and I get you're usually pretty open with them about stuff, but I don't know how they'll react. I don't really want you and your friends to drift apart over...this." His lips had formed 'me' at the end, before Gary had corrected himself, but Ash didn't mention it. "Just for now. Maybe we can...test the waters out later, but only with someone you really trust."

"Mm..." Ash thought for a moment, laying his chin on Gary's collar bone. It no longer hurt from where he'd smacked it there days ago, on that same spot. "...Maybe Brock, then. He really likes girls, but I think he'd listen to us if we told him. Won't be until we get to Pewter, though." A pause, and he reached up to lightly poke Gary's nose. The way the auburn-haired boy wrinkled it up made him smile. "What about my mom or your grandpa? Aren't people supposed to tell their families about being together with somebody?"

Gary looked very much like the mere idea of telling his grandfather made him sick to his stomach, and Ash's mouth turned down. "...What? What's the matter?"

"...I don't...know if I wanna tell my grandpa, Ash."

"Why not? You already dated a boy, right?" There was a telling silence, and Ash put the pieces together rather quickly. "...You didn't tell him about that, did ya?"

Gary shook his head. "No."

"Well...the professor knows me. He kinda likes me, so things should be okay if you tell him...right?"

"...I...I don't know. We'll figure it out later, we won't be back in Pallet Town for a while." Gary hastily said. "Save it for later."

"Gary--"

"Later, Ash."

Ash felt himself trying to start arguing, but stopped. Nodding instead, he ran his hand through Gary's hair and watched as the other boy lay his head back, eyes closing. The gesture seemed to instantly calm down the researcher, and Ash filed away that detail for later. As comfortable as Gary was in being close to him, it seemed there was a lot more anxiety hiding under the surface. At once, Ash wished he knew how it felt, so maybe he could understand instead of feeling frustrated. He supposed he felt a little worried about telling his mother, but not in the way he worried about telling her about all the times he'd nearly gotten hurt...or died. No, he more worried over how she'd tear up about how her baby was growing up or something equally embarrassing.

How _would_ she truthfully act, he wondered, if he told her he was dating another boy? It was something he'd never had to ask himself before, because he'd never thought of dating _anyone_ , much less Gary Oak. His mother sometimes went on and on wistfully about how she hoped he'd one day settle down and have his own family...which, in Delia Ketchum's terms, included babies. And you couldn't have babies with a boy and a boy, could you? She'd probably be disappointed about that, he reasoned, but would she be upset with him? He found he didn't know. Suddenly, he had a little window into just why it upset Gary so badly to potentially tell his grandfather. Professor Oak had always been kind to Ash and just about everyone he knew, but when it came down to it, Gary was his only relative that Ash knew of.

They hadn't been very close when Ash and Gary were friends long ago. Gary never spoke about that much. When they became rivals, Ash never got to see much of the dynamic between them. He wondered if it had gotten better, now that Gary was older. Even if they hadn't, Ash couldn't fathom seeing the old man angry with Gary over something like who he chose to see. Still...there was the matter of both of them being the only people left in their family besides their one guardian a piece. Yes...yes, Ash supposed he _could_ see why both of them should have been a little worried about telling their families.

That aside, he was having a hard time seeing why they couldn't at least talk about it at the moment. No one else was there; it wasn't like they would be overheard.

Mind buzzing with questions, Ash peered down and prepared to ask just that. The only trouble was that sometime during his inner musing, Gary had just gone right to sleep. All the trainer could do was blink, at first, surprised by the sudden find. He tried softly calling the other boy's name just to be sure he was truly asleep, but got no response.

A soft whisper of grass moving made him look back up. Umbreon sat there beside Gary's head as he did so, her red eyes first glancing over the face of her master before the tiny pinprick-sized pupils found Ash. He shivered, instantly feeling exposed under her leering, searching gaze. She was examining him much like he was an opponent; it was a look Ash had seen quite a bit during his travels from all sorts of Pokemon. Wildly, he thought for a split second that she would lurch forward and bite him.

But the black creature did not. Instead, she lightly placed her paw on top of Gary's forehead, eyes still on Ash. There was a brief moment when the yellow rings of fur circling her various limbs glowed brightly, along with her eyes. The message was extremely clear; she had in no certain terms threatened Ash with bodily harm should he in any way hurt her master.

A tiny chirp came from behind Ash, just before Pikachu lept onto his head. Pikachu began talking rapidly, and though Ash couldn't see just what it was doing, whatever it was seemed to have instantly caught Umbreon's attention. She watched Pikachu just as unblinkingly as she had Ash, the rodent continuing to chatter away and gesture (at least, Ash assumed it was, the way his hat was slipping this way and that on his head). When it finally fell silent, Umbreon finally blinked her large, red eyes and nodded. His former rival's Pokemon then sank gracefully down onto her belly, stretching a limb forward and lightly batting at Ash's nose. As much as she was protective of Gary, she appeared to at least approve of Ash a little. He had no idea what Pikachu had said to her, but if it was anything like the silent look Umbreon had given him seconds earlier, then he at least knew that the threats were mutual.

A yawn tore through him, then, which made Gary frown in his sleep and finally open one of his eyes. "You REALLY need to do something about your breath." The researcher griped, tiredly, and Ash grumbled something less-than-friendly in return. "If you're tired, get off me. You're already heavy as it is, I don't want your dead weight on top of me."

"Aren't you supposed to be nice to me, now?" Ash asked, sourly glaring down at the other male.

"That's as nice as I'm going to be about your stale breath, now get off." Was Gary's sharp retort, followed by the researcher shoving weakly at one of Ash's shoulders.

Begrudgingly, Ash crawled into the grass beside him. "I brushed this morning!" He protested in a whine as Pikachu gently scampered off his head to settle beside Umbreon's dozing form.

Gary shifted over onto his side, facing the boy with a non-plussed expression. "With what? Dirty socks?"

"You're mean, you know that?"

"You stink."

"You said my breath, you didn't say ANYTHING about the rest of me!"

"Unfortunately, I'm used to that." The auburn-haired boy muttered, before reaching forward and laying his arm over Ash's torso. "Relax. I'm only kidding."

"Yeah, I'm yukking it up over here." Ash dryly commented as they shuffled a bit closer together. "Go back to sleep, I like you better when you're quiet."

"Good one." Gary admitted, tucking his head under Ash's chin much as he had done with Umbreon's earlier on. "...Hey, remember when you told me earlier to let you know what and what not to do...? You get a say in that, too, y'know. You're half of this."

And though that was true and though it should apply to every relationship like their's, Ash felt a bit humbled by the words anyway. He buried his fingers in Gary's hair again, smiling even though the other boy couldn't see it. "I don't have anything to say right now, then."

"You're going to be one of those cheesy guys from romance comedy movies for this whole thing, aren't you?"

"I might, now that you brought it up. Good idea, Gary."

There was a deep sigh, a rush of hot air hitting Ash's neck in a way that made him feel a little more awake for just a second. "Giratina sent you here just to torture me."

Ash decided to forgo mentioning that he'd met said Pokemon before, and instead closed his eyes. "Take a nap or something already. Somebody'll probably come lookin' for us soon, y'know." He paused. "We might not get another chance to do this kinda stuff for a while."

Gary's hand gripped part of Ash's jacket. "Yeah, I know...I'm sorry."

"S'okay." Ash found that to be true after he said it. "I'm glad we at least got a couple hours. I think if we went any longer without talking about all this then it would've gotten kinda weird."

"It all needed to be talked about. I wasn't really sure you wanted to, actually, so thanks for stepping up and actually biting the bullet."

"Welcome." Ash wisely didn't say anything else, though he found it strangely pleasant to be the more confident of the two of them over something, for once. Gary likely wouldn't have appreciated having that pointed out. The conversation finally petered off for good. All three Pokemon had long since gone to sleep, and Ash felt within seconds that Gary had done the same. It was all too warm beside Moltres, making the chilly Sinnoh air in combination rather comfortable. As his own eyes closed, he was vaguely concerned about being discovered sleeping in such close proximity to Gary Oak, and hoped with the last thread of consciousness that one of their Pokemon would wake them before that occurred.

\--

As it turned out, Ash didn't need any of the three Pokemon to wake them. Bonnie gave them plenty of warning, yelling out triumphantly in the distance at the sight of Moltres. He was awake and sitting up with Gary a comfortable couple feet beside him when his four friends rounded the bend so that they could see both boys. By the looks of things, Bonnie and Serena had heavily enjoyed their outing.

"Poor Clemont." Gary muttered beside him, "I feel kind of bad for just ditching him with the girls."

Ash winced. "Oh, yeah...that was kinda stupid. Well...we won't do it again."

"Heyyyy!~" Dawn called to them, waving her arm above her head. In her other arm was Piplup, who waved its little flippers at Pikachu happily. "We've been looking all over for you guys!"

"This was the best place to train Moltres. Sorry, we really should've called you guys or something once we found it." Ash sheepishly explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

Bonnie bounded the last few feet towards them, dressed in a new, warmer outfit. "Look look look! Mrs. Berlitz met us while we were out, and she said I was CUTE and she bought me this whole outfit!" The blond girl chirped happily, twirling around in a circle. Clemont immediately looked embarrassed, and he immediately began to explain that he had protested, but Dawn's mother wouldn't hear a word of it.

"She got you something, too, Clemont." Serena gently reminded him, causing the blond boy's face to brighten in color immediately.

So Clemont dug into his bag, withdrawing the set of clothes the woman had bought for him. "It's...it's actually really nice. Very high-quality and durable work gear I can use. I wish she hadn't spent so much money on us..."

"Mom doesn't mind." Dawn told him, smiling at him as he put away the gift. "She really liked all three of you. I'm just glad she didn't try to get you anything super fancy...at least she played to your interests, Clemont."

"Me too." He murmured, adjusting his glasses and glancing shyly at her. Ash and Gary exchanged a look, Gary raising one of his eyebrows in question and Ash shrugging.

The exchange wasn't lost on Ash's friends, and especially not on Serena. "What?" She asked, "What was that for?"

"Ah..." Gary shook his head, accepting a lap full of Bonnie when she plopped down into it. "Nothing. I sort of wish we'd gone with you. Your mom sounds like a wonderful person, Dawn."

Dawn beamed at him, pink coloring her cheeks. "I'm really sorry, I guess you could've come along if you wanted, to, Gary. Ash probably could've handled things out here on his own."

"Your strong faith in that is disturbing." Gary deadpanned, causing Bonnie to slap her hands over her mouth as she giggled. The other three of Ash's friends also snickered. Ash, unamused, flicked Gary in the ear.

"Very funny."

"Aw, come on, give Ash a little credit." The blue-haired girl set her Piplup down on the grass, watching it run to hug and talk with Pikachu. "But hey, speaking of him handling things, how DID training go?"

Ash grinned widely, standing and approaching Moltres. The legendary bird watched him bemusedly, ruffling its feathers before standing as well. "It was amazing! You should have seen how well it did. I had Pikachu fight it, and right at the end it learned Fire Spin!"

"Wow...Yeah, I bet that was something else!" Clemont watched the Pokemon warily, but with awe in his smile.

Dawn approached the large Pokemon then, and it leaned down its head to her hands. She made a soft, happy sound before leaning her forehead to its own. "It's so friendly...and so beautiful! You should enter it in a contest when you get to Hoenn, I bet it'd blow the competition out of the water with a Fire Spin."

"A Moltres in a contest probably isn't a good idea." Gary told her, shooing Bonnie off his lap so he could stand up. "It's a Legendary, tame or not. Somehow I don't think the judges of any panel would let a Legendary Pokemon perform."

With a thoughtful hum, Dawn stepped back from Moltres, hands on her hips. "...You're probably right. What a shame, though, just imagine how beautiful it would look. It wouldn't need any props, I don't think." She laughed as the bird's beak nuzzled against her cheek. "I'm glad things went well! Looking forward to seeing it in action, soon."

"Soon?" Came Gary's curious question, followed by equal puzzlement from Ash.

"Well...to be honest, I was hoping I could come with you guys for a little while. I really need to get out of town for a little while and..." Dawn pressed her pointer fingers together, looking bashful. She worked the toe of her boot into the grass. "...well...I guess I miss traveling with you, Ash. You're probably one of my best friends, and things really haven't been as fun since I left."

"Aww, Dawn." A warm sensation blossomed in Ash's chest, and he conveyed it in his smile. He was more then glad to have the kind of friends he did. "Yeah, of course you can! You can stay with us in Pallet if you wanna, I'm sure mom'd be okay with it."

With a squeal, Dawn lept up into the air before scooping up her Piplup and dancing around. "Yes! I'm so happy! And I promise I won't cause too much trouble, no need to worry! Oh I can't wait...this means I can meet some of your other friends and-- Oh! I get to see Brock again, right? We're going to see him too, aren't we?"

The thought of finally visiting one of his older friends after a year or so was welcoming. Ash didn't realize how much he missed Brock Harrison...or Misty, come to think of it. "That's the plan. He'll be coming back with us to my mom's home, too."

"We'll be a little crowded, won't we...?" Serena asked, frowning a little. She had been silent during most of the conversation between Ash and Dawn, and now looked a bit out of sorts.

When Ash thought about that, he found she was right. He crossed his arms, now looking troubled, and the blond girl hurriedly waved her hands. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you, Ash..."

"I can help." Gary cut in, then, and attention turned to him then. "If you'll gimme a few minutes, I can call Gramps and ask if he'll mind having a few of you stay with us. We've got a little more room then Ash and his mom do."

"Stay in...in the professor's home?" Clemont stuttered out, "Are you sure we wouldn't be bothering him? I mean...his lab is there and..."

Gary smirked, shaking his head. "He's just like every other old guy I know, trust me. He's pretty fond of Ash, anyway; I'm sure he'd be happy to let some of you stay."

Clemont made a noise that sounded a bit like a miniature tea kettle coming to a boil, and Dawn put her hands up near her collar bone. "Wow...staying at the great Professor Oak's house. I wonder if he'll write any poetry if I ask him to...!" She murmured, and Gary put his head in his hands.

"Please don't." He begged, causing them all to laugh at his misery. When he straightened back up, though, it was without a trace of embarrassment on his features. He looked to Ash, then, hands in his pockets. "Are you planning on having anyone else stay in Pallet Town?"

Ash shrugged. "I dunno, to be honest. I'd be happy if we got more, though. It'd be my first Christmas with so many friends!"

"Mine too!" Bonnie piped up, her hands wrapped around one of Gary's wrists. "We'll have so much fun! I bet there'll be lots of snow so we can build snow men, and Ash, you said your mom's going to make cookies! And we can all decorate a tree together and open presents..."

"We'll miss our folks, I think." Her brother gently cut in. "But I think it'll be good for us to have a holiday away from home. I'm looking forward to meeting all of your other friends when we encounter them. If they're anything like Cilan, Iris, and Dawn, then the journey itself is going to be well worth it."

Dawn blushed, twirling a piece of blue hair around her finger, and Gary nudged Ash lightly in the ribs. "Thanks, Clemont." She told the blond boy, giving him a small smile. "Actually, I had a lot of fun with all three of you today. You're right: I'm looking forward to traveling, too, especially with you guys. Serena can be my fashion buddy!" She abruptly grabbed Serena in a hug, startling the girl. "You and me and Bonnie can ditch the boys when we get to the next town, it'll be fun!"

"...Yeah, it will." Serena answered, genuinely smiling at the blue-haired girl.

"You can take May with you." Ash told the girls, then. "She and Max are probably gonna be waiting for us in Hoenn. Maybe they'll come with us, too."

"Taking advantage of my hospitality, Ashy-Boy?" Came Gary's question, dripping in warning.

Together, the six of them gathered up their few scattered belongings, stowing Pokemon away in their Pokeballs as they prepared to leave. Ash took a few seconds once in a while to watch the other five talk and laugh with one another, standing with Pikachu in his arms. Dawn caught his attention after a brief moment, and while the others were busy she hurried to his side, grabbing his hand.

"What's up, Dawn?" He asked as she pulled him around to the other side of Moltres. The bird was sitting again, preening its feathers.

Dawn peered first over her shoulder, then stood on tip-toe to look over Ash's, and finally tried to look over top of Moltres. Before he could ask her once more, the girl turned to him with such seriousness on her face that Ash felt all the spit dry up in his mouth. Dawn was such a silly person, it was rare for her to use that sort of look on anyone.

"Is Gary your boyfriend?" She asked, then, and Ash about choked on the air.

"What...?"

"Is Gary your boyfriend?" Dawn repeated. When Ash said nothing out of shock, she nodded a little. "I knew it."

All Ash could think of to ask was a weak: "How?"

She smiled, then, in a way that was warm and made him feel more at ease. "I just could tell. Something between you two seemed different from the last time I saw you. Plus, you kinda just now came out and admitted it."

Ash slapped his forehead, nearly knocking his cap backwards off his head. He fumbled to catch it while Dawn giggled at him. "...Well, you're only kinda right. We...he...I kinda maybe just asked him before you guys got here if he...wanted to go out with me."

His friend cooed softly, clasping her hands. "Did he tell you he would?" Ash nodded, and she jolted forward, hugging him as she had Serena. It was filled with the sort of love a good friend would have, and he hugged her back as Pikachu scampered to his shoulder. "That's great, Ash! I really am happy for you. You know, Brock and I thought you wouldn't get together with anybody until you were maybe thirty..."

Ash blanched. "Gee, thanks, Dawn."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that." She told him, patting his cheek. "I mean it, I really am happy for you. But I know there's a reason nobody brought it up...nobody knows yet, huh?"

"No. I mean...I'd like to tell you guys - more then just you - but Gary's...a little scared of it, I guess."

Dawn nodded in understanding. "Well, I can see why that is. Zoey said she felt like that when she first told everybody she liked girls."

Once again, Ash nearly choked on empty space. "Zoey...?!"

"Mm-hm. She told me a few months ago. Actually..." Dawn's cheeks became bright red, and her smile wobbled. "She...told me she has a crush on _me_. I mean, I felt kinda bad because I don't like girls like she does, but she was really glad that I wanted to stay friends. And I do! It doesn't bother me much...I can kinda see where she's coming from. Girls ARE prettier then boys." She tossed her hair as Ash chuckled. "So when I saw you two and just _knew_ , I figured you'd wanna know that I'm still going to be your friend, too."

Ash hadn't even thought of that. Sweet Dawn, never being his friend again over something like who he chose as his partner? That idea was crazy, yes, but he thought he'd be really anxious about it had it not been addressed just then. "Good. I'd hate it if you didn't wanna be anymore. I like him a lot, but I like being your friend, too." He paused, finally feeling worry crawling in his belly. "...This is...what it's going to be like for everyone. Worrying about them not wanting to be friends anymore...isn't it?"

She hesitated, then put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed gently. "It probably is," Dawn told him, slowly and gently, "And some of them probably won't jump up and down for joy. Zoey said a couple of her friends had to think on it before they came back and talked to her again, and she said one said some really mean things and left. I hope nobody you know does that, because I know you and I know the kinds of friends you make, so it'd be really strange if one of them just went out of their way to be mean." Her arms encircled him again in that warm, comforting hug, and he hugged her back. "You might not keep all your friends...but you've got me for right now, and I know Brock will have your back. He loves you just like he loves his sisters and brothers, you know. And...!" She smirked at him, then, pushing her fingers into her own cheeks and making fishy lips at him, "'Ou'll hab pwecious Gaw-y~"

Ash swatted at her, trying and failing not to laugh. "Thanks Dawn." He paused, then eyeballed her suspiciously. "Did you leave us two alone on purpose today...?"

"Maybe." The female trainer batted her eyelashes innocently at him.

"Well..." He put his hand on her shoulder, this time, and Pikachu lept into the girl's arms. "Thank you. We needed it."

"Needed what?"

Both Ash and Dawn turned to look at the speaker. Serena was watching them, looking curious and...a bit upset.

Dawn was ready for her, though, and she smiled widely at the blond girl. "Luck!" She all but sang. "Apparently Ash was all kinds of nervous about training Moltres and Gary was upset over having to use Pikachu. They weren't sure it was gonna work!"

It seemed to melt the tension from Serena's face, but she continued to look slightly suspicious. "I was wondering why you two were back here..." She started saying, and Ash realized with a jolt that Serena thought he and Dawn--

"Ahhh..." Dawn swatted the air, blowing a little raspberry, "He wants me to get him something super special next time we're out. Poor guy's embarrassed." She put the back of her hand to the corner of her mouth, leaning towards Serena and saying in a not quite whisper: "He needs more _clean underwear_."

"DAWN!" Ash yelped, looking scandalized.

Serena also looked a bit worse for wear, though she was giggling. "O-oh, I see..."

"No, Serena--!"

"It's okay, Ash." Came Dawn's grave voice. "Everyone needs that sort of thing, you know."

Growling, Ash pointed threateningly at the pair of them, watching the girls squeal and disappear seconds later. His finger drooped, and he wondered briefly if it was worth THAT kind of rumor, him keeping his relationship under wraps. Pikachu snickered at him from on top of Moltres's back, where it had lept when the girls fled. He leered up at it sourly, face still burning. "You hush." He warned it, before withdrawing Moltres's ball and recalling the Pokemon. He caught Pikachu, frowning at it, before noticing that it was too quiet.

A look up saw all five of his friends trying desperately not to burst out laughing at him, six if one included Piplup. When his face became much redder, they could no longer contain themselves, and all of them - Piplup included - began to snicker and finally laugh.

"I w-wasn't aware you were in s-s-such dire need, Ash...!" Clemont managed to get out while Bonnie bent double, tears running down her cheeks.

Dawn hung over Serena's shoulder while the blond girl tried desperately to calm herself down. She couldn't look at Ash without blushing or falling into giggles all over again, and Dawn was flat out slapping at her own knees. But of course, by far the worst, the absolute _worst_ , was Gary Oak. Gary Oak, who grew up around him and knew exactly _why_ it was so humiliating to Ash. Gary, who opened his mouth and, in perfect pitch, pretended to be Ash's mother while he said: "Remember to wear clean underwear, honey!"

Dawn fell flat over, beating her fist into the ground. "HIS MOM!" She all but screamed, "I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT HER THING WITH HIS UNDERWEAR!"

Ash felt one of his lower eyelids twitch, and Pikachu lept from his hands before he tackled Gary. The auburn-haired boy screeched in surprise and fear, and the two of them went tumbling while Ash's other friends laughed and laughed. Of course, by the time both of them had stopped rolling, they were laughing as well. Ash flopped onto his back in the grass, arms spread out while Gary, somewhere to his right, tried to catch his breath between peals of nasally sounding laughter.

They had a long way to go, in more ways then one, but Ash couldn't say he wasn't looking forward to it.


End file.
